
All athletes have stories to share.
Some are more memorable than others.
All are worth telling.
And so we again go to former Hawai’i guard and NBA journeyman assistant coach Phil Handy for another. Last season, after Handy helped the Toronto Raptors win the franchise’s first NBA championship, we chatted about what it meant to carry the hopes of an entire country and what it meant to be part of “We The North.”
It reminded Handy of his time playing for the Rainbow Warriors (1993-95), particularly of the 1994 Western Athletic Conference tournament championship victory that vaulted Hawaii into the NCAAs for the first time since 1972.
“I remember when we won that WAC tournament and we felt that love from the whole state of Hawaii,” he said in a phone call in May of 2019. “It’s a lot like that.”
It was a lot like that this COVID-19 season as the Los Angeles Lakers channeled their grief after the death of Kobe Bryant into their first championship since 2010, and 17th overall. LeBron James made history as the only player in NBA history to be named the MVP of the league finals while playing for three different teams.
Handy made his own history as well as a Lakers’ assistant coach. Not only was it his sixth consecutive appearance in the NBA final — including four with the Cleveland Cavaliers and one with Toronto — he now has three championship rings with three different teams.
Handy and I traded texts after the Lakers won Sunday, one of mine which read: “You’re running out of fingers.”
“LOL good problem to have” he replied.
This was Handy’s second stint with the Lakers, having been their player development coach for two seasons (2011-13). He was with the Cavaliers from 2013-18, winning a title in 2016, and then last year during the Raptors’ ring run.
The Lakers took this season personally, wanting to win for Bryant. It was very personal for Handy, who had a personal relationship with the Bryant family, including being a tutor for 13-year-old Gianna Bryant, who died along with her father and seven others in the Jan. 26 helicopter crash.
“We were working on some stuff on the side,” Handy told The Undefeated, a sports and pop culture website operated by ESPN, days after the fatal accident. “That part is hard because I feel like my relationship with him was really starting to blossom and go into different areas.”
Handy said that he would not be where he is today without being pushed by Bryant, their bond being their shared work ethic. In 2019, at the first invitation-only camp with NBA at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Handy was in charge of organizing the entire Mamba Pro Invitational.
Read The Undefeated article at
https://theundefeated.com/features/phil-handy-working-out-with-kobe-and-gianna/
In the article I wrote for the Star-Advertiser last year, I mentioned there was “a youthful, energetic exuberance that belied his age. When he said he was “47 going on 22,” it made sense.
Handy’s now 49 and it would make sense for him to say he’s going on 24.
The number worn by his friend known as “Bean,” Bryant’s middle name.
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“The New -30-“ is a semi-regular feature of this website on Tuesdays. The intent is to give an inside look into my 40-plus years as a sports writer.
I covered men’s basketball in Hawaii for more than 20 years, including the Rainbow Warrior teams on which Phil Handy played.
Handy has always been a hard-worker and entrepreneur. I can remember when he designed a basketball jersey with just one sleeve, to keep the shooting arm warm.
I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic and his willingness to give back to the game, particularly when it comes to youth camps. Handy did clinics for the players’ kids while teams were inside the NBA Bubble.
Now he has released a new App, 94 Feet of Game, which is named for his training company. It’s touted as a “pandemic-proof tool for people with a basketball, a little space to dribble and plenty of time to kill.”
Handy also has an apparel line in collaboration with Deuce Brand called Be Your Own GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
Until next time
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